Savannah Bound

The last time we were at Joe and Judy's, we started talking about going on a trip together and going farther than we usually do.  I suggested Savannah, Georgia.  It was far enough that we determined that we should probably take two days getting there and so the reservations were made.  Bubba, Amy, and I had been through Savannah on our way to Charleston many years ago but we had not taken time to do any sightseeing there.

We met up with Joe and Judy in Thomasville, GA, at a restaurant for lunch.  Then we proceeded on to Waycross, GA, where we had reservations at the Laura S. Walker State Park.  

This is a beautiful well maintained park on a lake.  Several lake sites were available but we opted to stay in two sites that were perfect for the night since we did not intend to unhook the trailers from the trucks.

After a good night's rest, we travelled on to our final destination, Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah.  This, too, was a great park.  Florida could take some lessons from Georgia and Alabama when it comes to state parks.  These extra large sites were shaded by beautiful trees and we enjoyed full hook-ups which meant we could afford to take long hot showers in the evening.  The first evening was spent at the park making plans for the next day and enjoying our time together.

Wednesday, we left the park around 9:00 AM and entered Savannah where we bought tickets for an Oglethorpe Trolley Tour of the town.  This turned out to be an excellent choice.  Not only did we receive a 90 minute narrated tour of the city, but we then had the option of getting on/off at various stops plus were able to call them to pick us up at specific locations.  Everyone was so pleasant and courteous. The tour was worth it just to observe the skill of the driver.  She made it through some very tight spots without losing a beat in her narration.

Savannah was established in 1733 and is the oldest city in the State of Georgia.  By lunch time we had made our way to River Street where we enjoyed lunching at Dockside Seafood.  The food was good and reasonably priced.  The building was old and interesting.

We walked from one end of River Street to the other.  There were some interesting statues and fountains along the way.  

And there were a lot of interesting shops and various food concessions. Neither Judy or I strayed far from our diet plan even though there were candy shops and ice cream parlors everywhere.

By the time we reached the end of the street, we were all hot and tired; however, they reached the decision that rather than climb the hill that faced us they would call the trolley to pick us up and tell them that one of our party (me) couldn't make the hill.  (Bubba lives in fear that I'm going to faint although I keep promising not to do it.)  The trolley sent a shuttle to pick us up and they dropped us off at our next stop, The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.  I think we were all glad we went back to go inside this magnificent church. 

It had stained glass windows like I've never seen before.  The architecture was amazing.  It was definitely awe inspiring.

Next we had the shuttle drop us at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum which was more interesting to Joe and Bubba than to Judy or me.

The next morning we set out to visit Tybee Island.  Although the ride took us by some impressive marshlands, the island itself was reminiscent of Panama City Beach although not that developed or crowded yet.  People flock to the beach no matter where it is.

We returned to the campground where we grilled hamburgers for lunch and rested a bit before we departed for Wormsloe, the final destination on our wish list.  Wormsloe was settled by Noble Jones one of the first group of settlers in Georgia.  It is famous for the entrance road which is overhung by beautiful oak trees making a canopy and for the tabby ruins of the house built by Noble Jones.

We followed Joe, our fearless navigator, on a trail that went along the edge of the marsh.  After I began sweating profusely, I pulled out the map to make sure he knew what he was doing.

 We all had our picture made on this scenic trail.  Judy was a little camera shy this time, but she was there with us.

Our last supper out was at a seafood restaurant, The Flying Fish.  Bubba and Joe had fried flounder and Judy and I had the blackened flounder.  That evening we started putting things away so that we could start out for Valdosta the next morning which is where we had planned to spend the night to break up the trip.  When we got to Valdosta, we decided we felt good enough to make it to Thomasville.  Then when we got to Thomasville we decided to make the trip all the way home.

When we arrived at the house around 4:30, we just took in what we absolutely had to have for the night and left the rest of the unloading for Saturday morning.

We had three near misses on this trip.  When Joe was moving his truck into the parking for the trolley tour, Judy was standing in his blind spot.  I pulled her out of the way just in time.  (Imagine that - I have the slowest reflexes of anyone I know.)  At the campground, Bubba tripped and fell inside the little screened shelter we were sitting in for lunch, hitting his head on the bench of the picnic table. He was dazed for a few minutes, but seemed to have nothing worse than a headache from his fall.  At Wormsloe Plantation, we were reading the information about the tabby house when a huge oak tree cracked and fell across the trail we were about to go on. 

All in all, it was a great week.  Savannah was an interesting place to visit and of course it was better seeing it with family.  The weather was perfect.  There was a cool breeze every morning and evening.  This destination was farther away than we had been before with the camper and Bubba did a great job although he says he still won't go that far alone.  Hopefully, Joe and Judy will join us again for our next venture out.

In addition, I would like to give Bubba his due.  He didn't miss a morning bringing me coffee in bed.  I guess he took this picture to prove it.

And, I would like to give Amy credit for encouraging me to purchase a pair of Clark's flip-flops that were too expensive for my taste, but when she gave me her $10 coupon I couldn't resist the bargain.

I walked all over Savannah and Wormsloe Plantation in these flip-flops and they were so comfortable the whole time.  It turned out to be a great investment.  I guess this proves that you get what you pay for.  I don't know exactly where we are headed next.  I think we have two weeks at home and I plan to make Amelia a sundress.  I need to stay away from Joann's Fabrics.  Every time I go in there, I get the crazy idea that I can sew.  We'll see.  I'll probably post those pictures as I proceed with that project.

A Visit with the Snow Queen

One of our goals as retirees has been to spend as much time with our only grandchild as possible.  Amelia was going to be in an end of school program on Friday, August 16, so on Thursday, we started out again for Baton Rouge for what would be our last trip since they are moving back to Atlanta in early June.

We arrived around 2:30 and the house appeared to be empty with a big moving truck in the driveway.  What we found was our son-in-law, Darryl, asleep on the couch and Amy in the process of getting dressed.  Darryl along with his friend, Damian, had worked on loading the truck the night before with the largest items to be placed in storage in Atlanta.  This included Amy's piano, which I believe Damian has helped load at least four times.  I understand that he emphatically insisted that he does not intend to help move the piano again.  Darryl had enlisted the help of a day laborer on Thursday morning to finish loading the truck.  He and Damian were heading for Atlanta following Amelia's program on Friday.

After picking Amelia up at school, we proceeded to one of our favorite places to eat, Tommy's Fish House.  We had to wait a while for our food and Amelia, who had donned a crown for the occasion, amused herself with Amy's iphone.

The next morning we carried Amelia to school and went directly to the school cafeteria so that we could get a good seat.  We were on the second row and the hour's wait was worth it.

The program was entitled, "Our Year in Kindergarten".  Apparently this is the program the kindergarten classes put on every year.  It presented songs and activities that they had done as a class through the year.

Each child was assigned the responsibility of making a flower, a bug, or a butterfly and they turned into a great backdrop.  There are two kindergarten classes, but the other class had presented their program the day before.

The program started with the beginning of the school year and went on until summertime.  Amelia was the Snow Queen and her friend, Marshall, was the Snow King.  They sang "Winter Wonderland" by themselves and did a great job.  In my humble opinion, Amelia is destined to star in school musicals in the future.

Afterwards Amelia enjoyed hanging out with some of her friends before going back to class.  It was a great program and the kids were so enthusiastic with their singing.  This has been a wonderful school and we are all sad to have to say good bye, but I think Amelia has gotten a strong start with her education by attending there.  Did you know that these children know the names of all the presidents of the United States in order?  They demonstrated their knowledge in song.  I didn't ever learn that.  I tried but I always forgot the middle ones.

Here is a picture of Amelia with her proud parents.  Notice that you can see less of Darryl than in previous pictures.  

And of course we have to have a picture of Amelia with her proud grandparents.  It was a great day and we are so happy we could be there for it.

Note:  There's less of me too, but you sure can't tell it from this picture.

It Is Definitely Not a Squirrel

Since it wasn't practical to be with Amy for Mother's Day this year, I opted to spend Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday at St. George Island for some much needed rest and relaxation.  So we arrived at the park Sunday afternoon, set up our recliners, and enjoyed some down time.   Bubba grilled ribeye steaks for supper and I prepared some oven fries to go with them.  It was a great meal.  I love steak, but try not to eat it too frequently for several reasons.

On some of my earliers posts, I took a picture of the "view from my window" and sister-in-law Winifred mentioned that she enjoyed seeing them.  She is not going to like this one.  I know that I didn't.

Every time I looked out my window, this is what I saw.  I hate rats!!  I don't care if it and a squirrel are from the same family, they are just not the same. I threw oyster shells at it every chance I got, but he always came back. Trying to forget about the rat, Bubba and I packed up our stuff on our handy dandy beach cart and left this critter behind to enjoy some relaxing time soaking up some rays.

Bubba tried some surf fishing without any luck.

I think I actually went to sleep.  It was windy and pleasantly cool.  The tide was coming in and it wasn't too long before the waves began to lap up under our chairs so we moved everything back.

And eventually the waves followed us to where we were so we called it quits and headed back to the camper.

The next day we went fishing off the St. George Island Bridge again with no luck, but it was just good to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.  We enjoyed a meal at Bayside Burgers where Bubba got the fried mullet and I had a very good hamburger steak.  If you are ever in this area, I recommend this little restaurant.  I've never ordered a hamburger here, but there seafood is delicious and reasonable priced.

Wednesday we arrived home fairly early and got busy cleaning up the camper and washing our clothes.  We were leaving for Baton Rouge the next morning to see Amelia in her program at school.  We're getting quite busy living this retirement life.